Half Moon
by You're-Not-So-Big
Summary: The Volturi stop for nothing when they discover someone far better than Bella Swan to sink their teeth into. Twilight Crossover.
1. Prologue

**Twilight**

Prologue

* * *

"Finally," Caius whispered quietly, licking his lips, "the food has arrived."

Aro smiled and placed a hand on his hungry stomach. "I can hardly remember the last time we feasted."

They waited patiently for Demetri to bring their prisoners through the heavy wooden doors of their underground home.

Just as Caius inhaled hungrily in anticipation for his next meal, the ancient double doors swung open, revealing Demetri at last. Three terrified young humans stood behind him, pale and wide-eyed, and behind them, several less important members of the Volturi guard were goading them forward.

Aro licked his pale lips ravenously. "You've kept us waiting, Demetri."

Demetri bowed his head in respect. "I'm sorry, _signor_. I know how you feel about your food, so I picked the best ones I could find." He glanced hesitantly at the three humans behind him. "They're young and fresh, just the way you like them."

Aro, Caius, and Marcus stepped forward off the platform to closer inspect their dinner. Two men, one brunette, one blonde, and a red-headed woman, all of them young and beautiful, just as Demetri said. They looked absolutely delicious.

"Thank you, Demetri," Aro said graciously. "You may have one, if you like. One of the men."

"What the hell?" the blond man yelled in horror as Demetri grabbed his arm. "What the hell are you? Leave us alone! We didn't do anything to you!"

When none of the Volturi answered him, the girl cried, "Just let us go!"

Aro smiled at this, slowly moving closer to her. "You are beautiful. I wonder…. How would you look as a vampire? Absolutely stunning," he answered himself. Tears welled in the girl's eyes.

"Vampires?" she squeaked. With more force, she cried, "My brother will kill you! Let me go—let _us_ go!"

"Your brother couldn't do a thing to harm us, dear girl," Aro said tiredly, motioning to Caius and Marcus to go ahead with the brunette man. They both knew he liked to play with his food before he ate it, so there was no sense in waiting for him. "No one could, not for centuries—"

"You don't know my brother," the girl sneered and moved to hit him. When her hand struck him, she immediately drew back with a cry of pain. It felt as though she had hit a solid cement statue.

Aro laughed. "You just put your brother in a very bad position," he threatened. "You see, with just a simple touch, I can read every single thought you've ever had. I can see your brother through your memories, and my friend, there," he motioned to Demetri, who was leading the struggling blond man to the Volturi Guards in order to share him. "Can track him down."

Superhuman abilities weren't anything new to the girl, but the fact that her brother could possibly be brought into the mess she was in made her gasp in horror. Before she had any time to protest, Aro leapt forward and grabbed her by the arm. She flinched and clenched her eyes shut, expecting to be ripped apart or something equally as horrible, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes to find that the Vampire that had her in his grasp had his eyes shut and was breathing slowly.

"Jasmine, am I correct? Or Jazz?" he smirked, opening his eyes to look at her. She didn't reply and he continued. "You have many memories, it will take time for me to sift through them all…."

Jazz ripped her arm away from him, but it was already too late. He knew everything there was to know about her. Including who her brother was.

"Studying abroad," he continued with a chiding click of his teeth. "That is too bad for your family. They'll never know what happened to you. Now, your brother…." Going through all the memories of her brother, he hesitated. The casual expression on his face melted into a strange combination of horror and wonder.

"No! Stop! Don't think about him!" Jazz suddenly shrieked. She struck the vampire with both fists, but to no avail. Nothing she did would stop him.

"Your brother…," Aro breathed. He suddenly lost patience for the girl. Jazz pulled back for another punch just as he backhanded her across the face, faster than she was even able to see. She fell backwards to the ground, out cold.

"Marcus, Caius! Demetri!" he yelled, his voice cutting through the terrified screams of the humans that were still conscious. "Drop the humans at once!"

Everyone immediately obeyed. The Volturi guards were itching to quench their pangs of hunger, but they, too, let the humans go. The room became engulfed by sudden silence, and everyone was facing their leader.

"But brother, our guards are hungry. What is so important—"

"Silence!" Aro cut Marcus off with a flick of his hand. Turning back to the rest of the Volturi, he explained, "I have just read this girl's mind. Her brother… is like nothing I've ever seen before. A ghost."

Caius's brow furrowed. "What—"

"I know what you are thinking," Aro interrupted impatiently with a wave of his hand. "And despite their supposed rarity, apparently their appearances are becoming increasingly more common. Not only that—this boy is different than anything I've ever seen. He's only…_half_ of a ghost, however impossible it seems. Demetri, I want you to track him down. I want that girl's brother."

"Of course, _signor_," he said with a low bow, "but may I ask—"

"Why?" Aro knew all of Demetri's past thoughts, so it was always easy to predict what he was going to say. "He's half human! We need to make sure that this half becomes vampire. Could you imagine what sort of possibilities could arise from being half ghost and half vampire? If we had him in our coven, we would be ten _times_ more powerful than we are now. Bring him back unharmed, for _I_ want to be the one to turn him. Besides, he lives in America, not too far from the Cullens. While you are there, you can check on that girl and make sure she's been turned. Take Jane, she will help you subdue anyone, should any trouble arise."

Demetri bowed his head again in respect for his leader. "Brilliant," he said out of respect as he stepped closer to his leader. He held out his arm so that Aro could project memories of the girls' brother into his mind with a light, cold touch. The location instantly filled the top guard's mind, and Demetri nodded furiously, eager to please his superior. "Don't worry, _signor_, I will find him at once."

* * *

**A/N: **I got an overwhelming amount of people telling me that I need to continue this one, so I'm working on a plot for this and just going back and editing the stuff I wrote like a year ago. Hope you like it!


	2. Chapter One

**Twilight**

Chapter One

* * *

"Oh." Alice turned to Edward from across the room, the irises of her wide eyes clouding in a familiar way. "Oh, _no_."

Faster than sound itself, Edward was standing next to her, a worried expression on his face. "Alice, what is it?" he asked, tenetively touching her icy cold shoulder. "Alice?"

Gazing into her face, he knew he would not recieve a verbal response. Alice's eyes were glazed over and she was completely unaware of Edward hovering over her.

"Alice…." Edward trailed off as he let her thoughts enter his mind. She was having a vision—it didn't take telepathy to know that—and he needed to see what it was in her vision that had her worried. As her emotions became tangible thoughts and sights in his mind, Edward closed his eyes against reality to better percieve what his sister was seeing.

Almost immediately, Bella caught his eye. Her beautiful copper hair was flowing behind her as she ran, and she was running as fast as her human body would allow. Edward paled as he noticed her terrified expression, her chest heaving frantically and the sweat or tears that glazed her cheekbones. His whole being ached to help her, and he desperately wished he could, but he was somehow stuck in place, unable to move. She ducked under a low hanging branch and leapt over a small brush, and he almost expected her to trip. He exhaled in relief when her two feet managed to find the ground. She dodged around several more trees, trying to lose her attacker, and Edward's breath hitched in his stoney throat when he realized she was running through the Black's forest—Quiluete territory.

Suddenly, with a look over her right shoulder, his Bella suddenly dug her heels into the damp forest floor and slid to a short stop. She threw herself behind a large, dead tree, and squatted, hunching her shoulders over her in an almost protective gesture. She closed her eyes as she continued sucking down all the air she could through her open mouth.

"Edward…," Bella whispered to herself, panting so heavily her breathing almost drowned out her voice. She opened her eyes and looked upwards, as though she could see him in the branch covered sky. "Edward, where are you?"

A twig snapped and her head spun towards the noise, her hair twirling wildly and beads of sweat falling from her face to the ground. "Who's there?" she squeaked.

Silence.

Bella's frail body shook with terror and adrenaline.

"I—know you're there," she said jerkily.

This time, there was an answer. A low moan sounded like a foghorn through the surrounding forest, causing Bella to gasp and shut her eyes tight.

"…Please," she whispered, squeezing her arms tight around herself, making herself smaller.

"P—please," a voice echoed, even more shakily than Bella's. Edward's hackles raised at the young man's desperate call to his Bella.

"Bella, don't turn around," Edward whispered pleadingly, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hear him. Bella's breathing began to slow as she searched once more for the owner of the voice.

"_Pl-ease_," the disembodied voice wavered again, clearly pained. Bella's chin jutted out and she looked to the side, trying to see who the voice belonged to without having to turn. She couldn't. _"Help_…_."_

"Bella, don't turn around!" Edward begged.

Bella stood to her full height and spun. She gasped in horror as she looked on beyond her hiding place and—

"Edward!"

Edward inhaled sharply as he was brought back to reality, away from Bella, away from whatever lay beyond the tree.

"Edward!" Alice called again, her mind radiating with fear. "Did you see it? Did you see what I saw?"

He looked into his sister's small imploring face as she searched his eyes. He could feel himself shaking.

"I thought she was with Charlie…," he whispered and Alice grabbed his wrist soothingly.

"Listen, Edward, don't worry," she told him seriously. "We'll find—"

But she never finished her sentence, for Edward ripped his arm out of her firm grip, turned, and ran. Not even taking the time to use the door, he jumped through the window, shards of glass shattering all over the Cullen driveway, and he ran as fast as he could, faster than the speed of sound, to the Quilette forest. He would have to risk them being angry with him for trespassing on their territory, but saving Bella would be more than worth that risk. Bella was his life. Bella had to be saved.

He was there in less than half a minute. He stopped, closing his eyes in order to focus on anything he could find. He was unable to hear anything with his mind, but then, to his surprise, he heard her voice.

"Edward, where are you?"

It was a faint whisper even _with_ his super-human hearing, a hundredth of the volume it was when he had heard it in Alice's vision. He tried to pinpoint where exactly it came from, but was nervouse about wasting any more time than he already had. "I'm coming, Bella."

He ran as fast as he could towards her voice, constantly pushing himself faster. And then he heard her voice again, louder.

"Please!" her frantic whisper echoed in his ear, her beautiful voice begging.

Then he heard the other voice.

"P-_please_," it whined pathetically. It was startling, hearing the voice, because he was unable to sense any thoughts in the forest at all.

But in less than a second, Edward found her. Before she even knew what happened, he had her in his arms, holding her protectively.

"Edward!" she cried, wrapping her arms around him. "How did you—!"

"Shh!" he silenced her. He set her down gently, stepping past her so he could finally see what was beyond the tree.

Both Edward and Bella gasped at the same time.

A boy no older than seventeen was laying face down in a small puddle of red. His hair was matted, his clothes torn and sweaty, and he looked absolutely filthy. Edward took a hestitant step forward and bent down to inspect Bella's supposed attacker. The boy was just human. His muscles were shaking, and the tears in his clothes exposed cuts in his flesh. And, as Edward noticed with heart-stopping horror, the small lacerations weren't the only thing that had torn him apart. There were bite marks on his neck, where blood was freely and quickly escaping his body.

"_Pl_-_please _help me," the boy suddenly gasped, as he tried to pick himself up with his arms, startling both Edward and Bella. They watched as his arms failed him, and he fell back to the earth, unmoving.

"Oh my god!" Bella cried, grabbing onto Edward's sleeve. "Edward, what—!"

"Bella, why are you out here?" he asked harshly, brushing asid Bella's hand as he bent down to pick the boy up into his arms to let her know just how furious he was.

Bella cringed. "I—Jacob left a message on my cell, telling me he was in trouble," she said quietly. "You don't understand, Edward! It sounded like he was _crying_! I _had_ to help him!"

Edward's amber eyes flashed as he looked at her. "You could have called me!"

"I wasn't thinking." She lowered her own eyes to the ground in embarrassment. "Anyway, I heard a noise when I was running in the forest, and I got scared."

"You were lucky Alice saw you. Get on," he said, motioning to his back with his shoulders, and Bella complied without a word. "And hold on."

Almost instantaneously, they were off. Bella squinted against the oncoming rush of wind in her eyes and bit her lip against the sick feeling the tunnel of barely visible passing trees gave her. She decided instead to look down, around the back of Edward's head, to get a better look at the unconscious boy.

He was pale and posessed a full head of messy black hair. The red symbol on his dirty white tee was no longer legible because of a long gash that ran through it and the blood that was everywhere. Bella scrunched her nose; the smell and sight of blood gave her stomach an even worse feeling than the passing trees. She tore her eyes away from his messy clothes and broken body to study his small face. He was nowhere near as gorgeous as Edward, but there was something rather attractive about the boy's rounded face. His face looked too young for his tall, lean body, and it was this imbalance that threw Bella off. Where Edward lacked the naievety most kids lost when they became teenagers, this boy couldn't have had more angelic features.

And of course, just as soon as she had gotten comfortable on Edward's hard back, he came to a stop.

"We're home," he whispered, no longer any anger laced in his beautiful voice.

Bella slid off Edward's back with a small nod, and followed him as he walked up the Cullen driveway and into the house. As soon as he opened the door, the members of the Cullen family rushed at them, surprisingly much too worried about Bella to notice the smell of blood wafting from the boy's body.

"Is Bella all right?" Alice was the first to ask, her shrill voice ringing from somehwere behind the group of tall vampires.

"Is she okay?" Emmet growled.

"Oh my god, Edward!" Alice cried pushing through the family, as their attention was drawn to the boy in Edward's arms. "Who is that?"

"Carlisle," Edward whispered, ignoring all their questions. "Please…."

Carlisle pushed forward from the group and took the boy out of Edward's hands. He walked to his office and layed him down on the lenght of the couch.

"He's bitten," Edward informed Carlisle. Carlisle nodded, and began to study his new patient.

"Everyone, out," he said quietly and everyone left his office. As soon as they had left the doctor and his patient in peace, the interrogation resumed.

"Edward, who is that?"

"I don't know. Bella found him," Edward answered tiredly.

"I did?" Bella was shocked. She had run from him—she hadn't _found_ him.

"What happened to him?"

"I don't know…."

-

A good half hour later, Carlisle emerged from his office. Everyone sitting at the dining room table looked up to him expectantly.

"He's alive." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Having a dead person on your hands is never a good thing, vampire or not. "But he's been severely injured."

"And the bite?" Edward asked, worried.

Carlisle tiredly raised a hand to calm his adoptive son. "Taken care of," the doctor assured with a smile. The smile soon faded, however, when he looked backwards in the general direction of his office. "Someone should stay with him through the night. I don't know if he'll—he'll be able to…"

"Survive the night?" Bella finished quietly for him, and everyeone turned to her in surprise. "I'll stay with him."

Edward's answer was almost instantaneous. "No, Bella, you need to sleep."

"I found him!" she said, protectively, crossing her arms.

Edwrad exhaled heavily, knowing more than anyone how stubborn Bella could be. "Fine," he growled. "But I'm staying with you."

Bella smiled and quickly slid her cell phone from her pocket. Raising it to her ear, she dialed Charlie.

-

Later that night, Bella found herself on the reclining chair in the spare bedroom, wrapped in Edward's strong arms. The both of them stared almost unblinkingly at the sleeping boy on the bed. Carlisle had managed to clean the boy up. He was no longer filthy, but completely washed. His left arm was in a splint and on his right, a row of stitches ran from his shoulder to his elbow. Bella imagined that he must also have stitches on his torso, but Edward's spare oxford button-up shirt covered it. His neck had been bandaged so that the bite marks could no longer be seen, and on his face, unprotected cuts too shallow to have anything done to them spotted his left cheek to his jaw. There was no denying that he had been very badly hurt and in this state, he wasn't the most beautiful of sights, but they kept staring in curiosity, willing him to wake up, to keep living.

Bella had almost closed her eyes and drifted into sleep when she heard the scraping of fingernails on sheets. Her eyes snapped open and after regaining focus on the boy in front of her, she looked him over.

His fingers twitched again and a soft groan escaped his lips. Bella flung herself out of Edward's arms to the side of his bed, and patted the stranger's shoulder soothingly.

"Mom…?" the dark haired boy whispered in a quiet, raspy voice, his cracked lips parted as he awaited an answer.

"…No," Bella whispered sadly, glancing at Edward when she felt him brush her shoulder with his stoney fingers. She found herself wondering not for the first time just what, exactly, the boy had been through.

She was surprised when he didn't ask who stood at his bedside, but rather switched topics.

"Water," he begged, and Bella looked up to Edward in silent communication. Edward nodded and exited the room, heading for the kitchen.

"We're getting you water," Bella smiled encouragingly. Her breath caught in her throat when the boy's eyelids flickered and slowly opened. His eyes were such a startling color blue, and Bella found herself staring openly. They shone brightly in the moonlight, the most beautiful shade of aquamarine. His brows furrowed together at the sight of Bella standing over him.

"Who—?"

"Here's water," Edward interrupted, appearing in the doorway with a glass of cold water in his outsretched hand. Bella took it from him and brought it to the boy's lips. He drank half the cup before choking and spilling water all over himself and the sheets. She took the cup away as he coughed and cleared his throat.

"Who was after you?" Edward said without pause. "Do you know?"

The boy shook his head slowly as if it hurt to do it, and his eyes welled with tears as memories returned to him.

"They have…my sister," he whispered, shaking, as his head fell back onto the pillow. When he closed his eyes, a small tear slid down his thin face. "My f—family—…They…have—they…."

He didn't say anything more as he drifted out of consciousness. Bella sighed, shaking off the intent concentration she had given their conversation, and she sat back down in the chair, curling into herself. She struggled against sleep as she waited for the boy to wake once more, but eventually her eyes closed and she gave into her strange dreams.

* * *

**A/N:** This was already written, I just changed a few little details in ordere to improve a little bit upon the horrible writing I managed to produce a year ago. I'm also going to take the time to tell you that one, I only read the first two books of the series, and two, I hated them both with a passion. But people really like it, so I thought that I would give writing about it a try. Also, thank you for reviewing!


	3. Chapter Two

**Twilight**

Chapter Two

* * *

The very next morning, Bella opened her eyes to find she was no longer in Edward's arms, but tucked perfectly into a satiny bed. She immediately sat up, a nauseous feeling eating at the bottom of her stomach as she recalled the events of the night before.

"Edward?" she called, making sure to smooth down her messy hair before he entered her room. When the door did open, Bella was surprised to see not her boyfriend, but his sister enter the room carrying a tray of steaming breakfast and a hearty smile.

"He's downstairs," Alice told her as she set the tray down on Bella's lap, "with that boy."

Bella shoved the tray away, not at all hungry. "He's awake?" she asked in surprise. Suddenly the only things in her mind seemed to be questions. "What has he said? Who is he?"

Alice crossed her arms and frowned at the abandoned meal she had taken the time to make, but chuckled at Bella's interest in the stranger. "Relax," she told her brother's girlfriend. "He hasn't said much at all. Told us he's feeling a little unwell." Alice pursed her lips and took the tray away before Bella could spill anything sliding out of bed. "Edward only just got him downstairs. He can barely walk, you know."

"Oh," Bella whispered in surprise, not so much at the fact that the injured boy from the night before was still hurt as the fact that she was wearing someone's pajamas.

"Mine," Alice said when she noticed Bella looking down at herself. "Come on," she smiled, indicating impatiently for her to follow as she left the room. "You don't want to miss him if he starts talking, do you?"

Bella shook her head and wordlessly followed her best friend through a hall and down a flight of stairs. When they entered the kitchen, Bella was surprised to see both Edward and the stranger sitting at the Cullen's large breakfast table. Jasper was sitting across the table from them with a strange look on his chiseled face, and all three boys looked up when they noticed the two girls.

The stranger boy dropped his fork as he stared into Bella's hazel eyes.

"You're…," he began, his voice no less raspy than it was the night before. He paused for a moment, and Bella looked to him encouragingly, but he choked up and trailed off.

Edward gracefully rose to the table and strode over to his girlfriend. He gave her a small hug and a warming smile.

"'Morning," she said tiredly. Edward said nothing in reply, but kept a hand around her waist and walked her out of the room.

With one last glance in the direction of the kitchen, Edward sighed. "He's doing much better, but he won't speak," he said, avoiding Bella's inquisitive gaze. "I watched him the entire night, except for the few moments I left the room to put you in a bed. I could have sworn he had been sleeping when I left, but when I returned to the room, I found he was no longer in the bed, but halfway out the window." Edward opened his mouth to continue his story, but Bella gasped, clearly shocked.

"He what—?"

"He…." Edward's brows furrowed as he recalled the incident. "He was hanging halfway out of the window," he repeated. "Before you say anything, no, I do not have a single clue as to how he was quick enough to move from the bed to the window—or how he even had the strength to open it. I caught him by his shirt, and I had to force him back into the bed. He was yelling about—…. Anyway, I told him that he was just delirious." Bella tried to picture the events with a frown. "I stayed there in the room with him until his stomach woke him up."

"Alice told me you had to help him down the stairs," Bella said, combing a strand of hair back behind her ear with her fingers. "That he could barely walk. How could he have gotten to the window?"

Edward ground his teeth together in frustration. "That's the thing; I haven't the faintest idea. I tried to get him to speak about it—speak about anything, really, but he hasn't opened his mouth once this morning except to tell me he felt dizzy. In fact, the first time he's said anything was when you walked in. And the worst of it is…I can't hear any thoughts from him at all."

"That is strange," Bella whispered, looking back towards the kitchen. "He's like me, then…." Realizing the implications of someone else who possessed her gift, she really couldn't think of much else to say. "I'll see if I can get him to say anything."

"Bella, love," Edward whispered back, brushing her shoulder with stony, gentle fingers. "He's barely made any noise at all since he got here. Don't get your hopes up."

Bella rolled her eyes and turned to enter the kitchen. The boy looked up from his empty plate and dropped his fork with a loud clatter. Bella dropped unceremoniously into the chair next to him and clasped her hands together, watching him chug a glass of orange juice.

"I hope—"

"I'm leaving," he said breathlessly as he slammed the empty glass down on the table. Both Edward and Bella blinked in surprise. Edward had been trying to get him to say something all morning, and Bella had barely said two words to the boy.

"But you can't leave!" Bella burst out. "You're hurt," she said, gesturing to his stitches.

The boy winced, but shook his head. "I have to. Bye."

Bella flinched at the sound of the chair scraping against the linoleum tiles as the boy pushed himself away from the table and rose unsteadily to his feet. Edward moved to help him, but the boy motioned for him to stop.

"I'm fine."

Bella found that her first impression of the dark haired stranger was much better than the impression he was giving them now. There was nothing naive about the expression on his face. His blue eyes were set and haunted. He began to hobble around the table, using the chairs for support.

"I don't think it would be wise—"

"I don't care," the boy interrupted Edward roughly. "I still have to leave."

"You don't have to do anything," Bella cooed, ignoring his protests and walking to his side. She placed a steadying hand on his arm. "You should at least rest a little."

The boy jerked his arm away from her and eyed her angrily before limping to the open doorway of the kitchen and looking around for the foyer. "You guys are being really nice, but I really need to get out of here." When he caught sight of the front door, he ground his teeth together and practically dragged himself to it.

"But we don't even know your name. You never even told us what happened…." Bella looked to him pleadingly and, for a moment, she managed to catch his flashing blue eyes before the boy looked quickly away.

"I'm not sure what happened," he told them both as he opened the door, ignoring her request for his name. Edward tensed as the boy paused to eye his girlfriend one last time and Bella flushed slightly under the intense scrutiny. "But you don't want to go outside. Trust me. There are some huge freaking wolves out there."

Bella blanched. She had almost forgotten about Jacob, even though he had called earlier, asking for her help. "What did you do?" she gasped, her hazel eyes flashing angrily. Edward looked between the two, nonplussed.

"Me?" the boy asked, giving her an odd look. "I didn't do anything—"

Bella was upon him before he could blink. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him with surprising strength.

"What did you do to Jacob?" she repeated in a low voice, surprising the two boys present. Alice and Jasper, who had been clearing the kitchen suddenly popped their heads around the door jam, watching silently. The dark haired stranger stumbled under Bella's forceful push and his left leg gave out, sending him to the marble floor with a low thud.

"Bella—!" Edward gasped in shock.

"Are you crazy?" the boy hissed through clenched teeth as he grabbed his ankle in pain.

Bella blinked. "I'm sorry," she gasped, falling to her knees by his side. "I didn't mean for you to fall—"

The boy scrambled to his feet and, steadying himself on the open door, he growled, "You've got it all wrong. I didn't do anything to anyone."

"Then what happened to you?" Edward looked to the boy inquisitively.

The boy sighed. "You really want to know?" When Edward and Bella nodded vigorously, he carefully thought about wording. "I…. I was eating dinner with my parents when all of a sudden we were attacked by these weirdo steroid abusers with bad teeth. Every single one of them…." His eyes glazed over slightly and his playful tone disappeared. "My parents where trying to…defend me, but I really didn't have time to see what happened. Someone hit me in the back of the head, and it kind of gets blurry after that…."

Bella looked up to Edward, pity evident in her eyes. Edward first exhaled heavily through his nose and then frowned.

"And you…woke up in the forest?" he queried.

The boy nodded. "Yeah. I woke up when I fell from someone's arms and my back hit the ground. I couldn't see much from the ground, but I did see these huge wolves growling and biting the weird people who had attacked my home." The boy adopted an odd expression. "I didn't see what happened, but I one of the wolves just sort of…fell over. My stomach started hurting, and when I looked, there was a huge gash on my stomach that hadn't been there before, and I…um, passed out." It was clear to the couple that he was slightly embarrassed. "I woke up again when I heard someone humming, and I called for help."

Edward nodded. "That explains a great amount," he said. "But also instigates many more questions." Bella blushed when Edward gave her a tiny smile. "And you were humming?"

"No," was her immediate reply. He raised a perfect eyebrow in reply, and she looked to him, exasperated. "I was scared, okay?"

"So, now I have to leave," the boy said, unaware of Bella's embarrassment. "I have to make sure my parents are…okay."

Edward shook his head. "I don't think I can let you do that now."

"And why not?" the boy said, raising an eyebrow.

The vampire frowned. "For some reason, you are a target of one of Italy's largest underground mafias."

* * *

**A/N:** Wow, thanks you guys! It was really great to have all that feedback. I hope you like this chapter even more, though so far, I still have yet to be impressed by Twilight. I have to say, though, this crossover is sort of fun.


	4. Chapter Three

**Twilight**

Chapter Three

* * *

Confusion couldn't be used to describe the dark haired boy's face, Bella decided. It was more like he was looking at her boyfriend as if Edward had lost his mind.

"What?" he mouthed breathlessly, like the question was so inherent that it wasn't worth the full use of his vocal cords.

Edward crossed his arms. "You heard me."

Though the boy had heard him with impeccable clarity, he rolled his eyes and still resumed his leave. He turned to pull at the ajar door, but withdrew with a yelp when the edge of the door slid from his grip and it slammed shut with a tangible shaking of the walls surrounding it. The stranger had barely had any time to pull his fingers out of the way when Edward had given the door an unopposable push closed.

"Are you crazy?" the boy demanded in exasperation. Still keeping guard of the door, Edward silently watched as he became angrier. A furious blush worked its way across the boy's face as his frustration increased. "Let me go!"

He pulled again at the doorknob and without even moving, Edward kept the door firmly closed. Bella's boyfriend frowned. "I am not crazy. You must understand—this is very dire."

The boy growled when he found that the door wouldn't even budge under Edward's weight, but then sighed in resignation and rolled his eyes at the ceiling. "What's so dire about it? Italy is a long flight away."

Instead of answering, Edward suddenly stiffened. "Someone's coming," he whispered. The boy's brows furrowed as he peered into the half-opened mouth of his host.

"Dude," he said, "your teeth are _sharp_."

Edward's mouth snapped shut, hiding his teeth. He spared the boy a short passing glance before his gaze flew elsewhere.

"Alice! Jasper!" The couple jumped at the sound of their names. "Can't you smell it? Get Carlisle!"

Bella leapt to her boyfriend as the two took their leave. "Who's coming?" she asked in a trembling voice. "It's not—it's not the _Volturi_…is it?"

Edward placed a steady hand on her shoulder. "Bella, love, no. It's not."

"Then who—?"

Their blue eyed guest jumped away from the door when the doorbell suddenly rang. Without waiting, the people standing outside grabbed the doorknob and gave the door a sharp shove. Both Bella and the dark haired boy stared in surprise when the force of the push broke both the lock and one of the hinges. The door swung open to reveal two very wolfish men. The shorter of the two wore a blank expression, but the taller 's face was lined with grief. Both were dirty and rugged.

Bella was the first to react. "Jacob?"

The two men didn't wait to be invited in. Jacob strode forward to her and without a reply, pulled her into a desperate hug. "Bella, it's awful," he whispered, burying his face in her shoulder. Bella gave Edward a surprised glance over Jacob's shoulder.

"Jacob," Edward said in a steely yet relatively calm voice. "What is this about?"

"You should know, dirty bloodsucker!" the man cried, drawing away from Bella. "You read my mind and tell _me_!"

Edward did not reply, but instead direct Jacob's accusing glare towards their unknown dark haired guest.

"And who the hell is that?" Jacob asked, trying not to appear surprised.

The boy frowned; all his patience had dissipated. "I am Danny," he told them sourly. "I am also leaving."

"I told you I will not allow you to leave," Edward firmly reminded him, moving to obstruct the path between Danny and the broken door. His exasperation grew as he tried to divide his attention between both parties. "Jacob, I suggest you tell us the problem. I am not able to read minds," he added smoothly, just to make sure that Danny wouldn't be suspicious.

Jacob sighed in defeat, his anger subsided. "It's…Collin…," he whispered, his shoulders slumping. Behind him, his friend finally gained a melancholy frown, but aside from that, he remained nothing more than stoic.

Danny couldn't help but notice the way Edward reacted as if he had already heard the news. Bella's boyfriend stiffened and his mouth became a firm line.

"What about him?" Bella pressed, rubbing Jacob's arm affectionately.

"He's…. Oh, God, Bella." The wolfish looking man's voice cracked. "He's dead."

Bella pulled away in horror. "What happened?" she breathed.

"We smelled bloodsuck—" he hesitated, looking cautiously at Danny. "We found your kind on our land...and we attacked when we realized it wasn't—" He stopped again when he could no longer ignore Danny's stare. "Can we talk about this in private?"

"If this has anything to do with last night, you can say it in front of me," Danny said indignantly, crossing his arms. "I'm not allowed to leave Eddy's sight, anyway."

Jacob paused in thought. "You were there last night, weren't you?" he wondered aloud. "You were that kid…. That's why you're here."

Danny frowned. "And you know this…how?"

"I was there," Jacob sniffed. Eyeing the bandages, scars and bruises that marked the dark haired boy, he continued with a half hearted smile, "So, you're still alive, eh?"

Danny was half tempted to make a sarcastic remark along the lines of "no, I'm dead," but he refrained when he considered his situation. Jacob continued his story before Danny got the chance to reply.

"We saw them carrying you," he said, giving a meaningful glance to Danny, who blushed slightly. Jacob sighed shakily and looked to Edward. "Half conscious. Embry attacked first. He hit the Vam—the man carrying the kid. He dropped him and soon we were full-on fighting. That woman, though…hurt the most. She did something to Collin. I could feel his pain through…" He again glanced at Danny, angry because he was having such a hard time watching his wording. "He was in so much pain he couldn't fight anymore. That woman ran at him and, well, you can probably guess the rest."

Bella shook with anger. "That's so terrible…."

"In the end, though," Jacob continued, "we were stronger. They ran away with several scratches of their own. What's weird, though, is that I was sure they had bitten the kid."

Edward frowned. "They did. Carlisle fixed him," he explained. "It's the Volturi, Jacob.""

"I got that, thanks," Jacob growled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But what's so special about _him,_" he said, gesturing to Danny, "that warrants a trans-continental trip?"

Edward shook his head. "I really do not know, but I can guess." He looked from his girlfriend to his injured guest. "You know the Volturi has taken interest in Bella…. You could say that the two share the same abilities."

Though for the most part, the conversation was over Danny's head, a spike of adrenaline suddenly washed through him as he became defensive. "What abilities? I don't have any abilities." When no one answered, Danny frowned. "Look, if you don't tell me what's going on, I'm leaving, and you're not stopping me."

Edward glanced suspiciously at the boy, sensing his heartbeat quicken. "Nothing is going on. We're just trying to figure out why this mafia has taken interest in you."

"Who's the leader of this mafia?" Danny asked. No one responded. "Fine. I really don't have time for this anymore; I have to find my friends. See you later."

Edward stiffened, prepared to detain the boy by force, but Danny made no move to exit through the door. Instead, he simply disappeared.

Jacob growled, "What—?" he spun, searching the room, but Danny was really gone. He glared again at Edward and Bella. "I knew there was something weird about that kid!"

"He smells weird," his tribe member added.

Bella stood, rooted to the ground in shock, while Edward's eyes widened. The vampire looked around before running into the kitchen. "I can still smell him!" he growled. "He's still in the house."

Bella, Jacob, and Jacob's friend followed him into the adjoining room. They watched as Edward suddenly took a swipe at thin air next to the back door, but nothing happened. Soon, neither Edward nor the two Quilete members could smell the boy any longer.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing. I really appreciate all your comments and concrit!


	5. Chapter Four

**Twilight**

Chapter Four

* * *

It had been two days since any of the Cullens had last seen Danny. Edward sighed as he gazed, unblinking, out of the mahogany paneled window, watching the gray skies slowly fade into night. In the far distance, over the trees, he could just make out her house. Bella's burley red truck fit right in with the other broken, dull cars abandoned on the sides of the cul-de-sac. Sighing a deep sigh of longing, he imagined his girlfriend to be cooking for her uncle like the obedient, loyal niece she always proved herself to be.

Clearing his throat, he turned to continue purposelessly wandering the house, but that familiar thirst stealthily crept into the back of his throat, subtly reminding him of what he hadn't done for at least a month, now. He needed to hunt.

"Carlisle." He threw his soft voice down the elegantly molded staircase. "I'm going out for a little while."

"You should ask Jasper if he would like to go with you," came Carlisle's immediate reply. With nothing more than a nod, Edward agreed.

"I just went for a hunt last week," Jasper called from the dark recesses of the house after picking up on their conversation. "But Alice is thirsty. She'll come with you."

In mere seconds, Alice was by Edward's side.

"Ready?" she asked her coven brother with her ever-present grin. Edward nodded again, and without further hesitation, they left the house.

There was, for the most part, no conversation between the two vampires. They had all the time in the world to quench their hunger, so they walked like average humans along the beaten cement path. Because they were walking so slowly, by the time they reached the first of the cliffs, the sun had already set. Edward froze when he came across wild game dodging overgrown bushes, and beside him, Alice slowed her movements until she became a literal statue. Edward stalked the bear through the dark with his amber eyes, counting the seconds between them. Slowly and quietly, he crouched, tensing to spring, his fangs gleaming like pearls in the moonlight. Before he could jump, however, a cry bombarded his ears. His concentration faltered; the bear ran away, so instead Edward looked for the newcomer. Alice voiced his shock with a gasp when neither of them were able to see anything.

"Please!" a familiar voice begged, and Edward blinked when blue eyes suddenly appeared from behind a slender tree. "You have to help!"

"Danny?" Alice breathed.

Danny nodded, panting as if he was out of breath while Edward shuddered, unnerved by both Danny's sudden appearance from almost literally nowhere and the fact that his leg had miraculously healed. "How did you get here?" he queried, but Danny didn't answer.

It took a moment for the dark haired boy's tears to register within Edward's mind. "I don't—I don't know what to do."

Alice hesitantly placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "About what?" she wondered.

"My…family. My friends," the boy offered, breathing heavily through his nose, a strange hint of despair lacing his too-calm voice. "They're gone." His voice cracked and raised an octave, but strangely remained at the same, low decibel. "Dead."

"Oh, Danny!" Alice let go of his shoulder to embrace Danny in a bone-crushing hug. "What happened?"

As he stumbled, trembling, away from her grasp, he shook his head. "I left them to die. When I found your house, they had already been…murdered." His unblinking, wide blue eyes suddenly focused on Edward and narrowed accusatorily. "I should have left you earlier. Maybe I could have saved them, if you hadn't held me back."

"It's the Volturi," Alice said monotonously to Edward, swiftly bypassing the confrontation, "isn't it?" Edward nodded wordlessly, but otherwise offered no support. "You should come home, with us," Alice said deploringly. "It will be safer for you."

Danny shook his head immediately. "No. I want to know what you guys know about that mafia you were talking about."

Alice and Edward shared a momentary sidelong glance. "It's not something we can readily discuss," Alice told the boy after a slight pause.

"Not even when someone dies?" Danny deadpanned bitterly.

"You're sure they're dead?" Alice replied. "You saw them?"

Danny shifted uncomfortably. "I saw my dad. And one of my friends," he whispered. "There was a lot of blood—I'm sure Jazz, Sam, and my mom didn't stand much of a chance either. I—I called the police—"

"I don't understand why you don't want to come with us—I can explain everything later," Alice offered, glancing again at Edward, who had remained silent. "Once you've calmed down and had something to eat."

"I don't want to calm down or eat!" Danny nearly yelled. "What are you doing out here by yourselves, anyway?"

This was where Edward felt the need to step in. "We're walking."

"In the mountains?" Danny's crazed blue eyes darted between the two, filled with a confused mixture of terror, frustration, and anger.

Alice stiffened. "You must come with us, Danny. I'll explain everything to you—all in due time." She searched his boyish face, her expression and voice softening. "We won't hurt you."

Danny's shoulders slumped in defeat. Tears streamed soundlessly from his eyes as he looked into her face and melted into her open arms. Alice tensed when his arms closed around her, but rubbed his back soothingly. The boy was in dire want of affection, and she couldn't deny the motherly feelings she felt for him. He was still a child. A live, breathing, normal human child. At least, that was what she thought—there was no reason for her to think otherwise.

-----

Danny's fork trembled the entire way to his mouth. He sat on a kitchen chair, wrapped in a cashmere, silk lined blanket, staring wordlessly into the kitchen fireplace as he absent mindedly ate Rosalie's pasta. Both Rosalie and Jasper had put up a fight against accepting Danny into the household, but in the end, the coven couldn't deny that the boy held a strange lack of appeal. They decided after much deliberation that his blood smelled almost tainted in a way. Like food gone wrong in the kitchen. Jasper was almost repelled by the smell of his humanity and could barely stand to be in the same room.

"It hurts my stomach," Alice's mate told Edward and Carlisle as they sat, watching Danny eat from the living room. "I cannot stand his stench. It is as if someone burnt a perfectly good steak. I also can't feel a thing when he's around—it is almost like he sucks up all the emotion in the room for himself."

Edward nodded as he looked to Carslisle. "And I still can't hear anything from his mind."

"When I was extracting the venom from his body, I couldn't help but notice how absolutely vile his blood tasted. It was…_tainted_, as you say, Jasper. There certainly is something strange about him, isn't there?" Carlisle frowned. "What could the Volturi possibly want from him, though? How do they know about his abilities?"

Both younger vampires shook their heads. Edward was about to continue the conversation, but halted when Danny stood from the table and approached them from the kitchen.

"Is anyone going to tell me anything?" he asked shakily, ignoring Jasper's pained look.

Carlisle nodded. "Of course, Danny. Come." He gestured to one of the cushioned seats. "Sit with us." Danny hesitantly took a seat but didn't relax his tense posture. "We were just discussing the Volturi," Carlisle intoned. "We would like it very much if you were to stay with us until the threat of their attack has been sorted out."

"I just want to know why they would attack me," the dark haired boy said hoarsely. "What did we ever do to them?"

"I unfortunately am unable to answer that," the leader of the coven replied stoically. "But we can find out sooner if we are here with you to protect you. We know their ways—we can help."

"I don't—" Danny hesitated, staring at his shoes. "I don't want to put you in any trouble. I think it would be best if—"

"My dear boy," Carlisle sharply interrupted. "Of course you will not be of any trouble."

"It would be best," the half ghost continued as if he had not heard, "if I stayed with someone else. I have an uncle; you might know him." The boy looked around the huge, luxurious living room, as if implying that all wealthy people knew each other. "He'd let me stay with him."

"Who is your uncle?"

"Vlad Masters," Danny replied after a slight pause.

"I have heard of him," Carlisle said thoughtfully. "A bit of a business tycoon, is he not?" Without waiting for Danny to respond, he continued, "I still think it would be best if you stayed with us. You could be putting your uncle into grave danger, after all."

The boy was unable to refrain from snorting. "I think he'd be fine." At seeing three confused and expectant looks, he clarified, "He's got, uh, bodyguards, and all that. Let's just say he's pretty untouchable."

Carlisle tensed slightly. "The Volturi are known for being unstoppable. There is no escape for their targets. In any case, stay here for the night. You may call your uncle in the morning. It's too late now. Alice has set up a room for you upstairs."

The boy's posture shifted slightly and almost nervously, he asked, "Where's that girl, Bella?"

Edward frowned. "At her home. Why?"

Danny sullenly shrugged and stood. "No reason."

Soundlessly, he disappeared up the stairs, leaving the three vampires to talk amongst themselves. They all froze when they heard a knock on the door, staring at each other terror, hoping against all hope that the Volturi hadn't stopped by to pay their latest guest an early visit.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm sorry I haven't been on in a long time and I'm even more sorry that this is so short. Busy doing fun stuff. Thanks for all the reviews and suggestions, though! They're super inspiring. Maybe one day I'll have enough time to reply to them....


	6. Chapter Five

**Half Moon**

Chapter Five

* * *

Edward relaxed when he smelled the familiar, sweet scent of his love through the thick walls of the house.

"Relax," he ordered the room calmly. "It's only Bella."

Jasper's shoulder muscles released a visible amount of tension. "What could she possibly be doing at this hour?" he wondered, staring pointedly at the wall clock. "It's well past eleven."

Edward could only wordlessly shake his head as he made his way to the door. "Bella?" He opened the door to reveal her pale, rounded face. "Darling, why are you here so late?"

Bella shook her head, her large eyes searching her boyfriend questioningly. "I was trying to sleep," she said, "but you never showed, and I was worried…." She trailed off when a familiar dark haired boy made his way into her line of vision. "Danny?"

Danny, who had entered the foyer to see who was at the door, gave her a fleeting smile. "Bella."

The shared a warm hearted glance before Edward broke the silence. "Bella, my love, I didn't visit you because, well, our guest paid us another visit."

"You came back," Bella stated expectantly to Danny.

Danny nodded reluctantly. "I had…nowhere else to go."

Bella spared a questioning glance between Danny and her boyfriend, but Edward didn't answer her directly. "Why don't we all go back to the living room?" he said, gesturing to the spacious, but cozy room behind the kitchen. One by one, they all filed into the room. Danny regained his spot on the loveseat, Jasper and Carlisle took a seat on a couch and Bella snuggled into her boyfriend's lap. Danny watched silently as Edward wrapped his thick, stony arms around her, shifting slightly underneath her to get comfortable.

"So," Carlisle drawled, heading the conversation, "Danny, as I was about to say, welcome to the Cullen family. Make yourself at home, and do not hesitate to ask for whatever you desire."

Danny kneaded the back of his neck with his fingers. "Uh, thanks. I'll only stay a night, though," he said. "I can go to Vlad's tomorrow."

Carlisle's expression became stony. "You must stay for as long as the Volturi are after you."

Danny frowned, but no longer found himself in the mood to argue. "Then I want to know something else. I want to know what Edward meant when the first time I was here he said 'Bella and I share the same abilities.'"

All at once, all three Vampires in the room found themselves at a loss for words. "Ah…," they all droned together, sharing quick glances.

Fortunately, they were spared when Alice barged into the room. "You're staying with us, Danny?" she grinned, dancing lightly over to the boy and ruffling his dark hair. "Excellent! You can be like the little brother I never had. I'll feed you—and tomorrow we can go shopping for clothes!"

Danny quelled the desire to yell at the older girl and argue. It was just no use telling the family that he would not be staying for long. "Great," he mumbled weakly.

Jasper chuckled. "Alice, leave the poor boy alone."

Alice crossed her arms. "I'll do what I want," she sniffed, smiling to indicate her sarcasm.

Under all the noise, no one but Edward had noticed that Bella had fallen fast asleep. "I think it's time we went to bed, wouldn't you agree?" Edward said, nodding at Bella.

Danny found himself in silent agreement when he felt how heavy his eyelids had become. He allowed himself to be dragged by his over enthusiastic host up the stairs into a spacious room reminiscent of the one he had woken up to the first time he had "visited."

"There's a spare set of PJ's on your bed, and there's a toothbrush in the bathroom. Just come downstairs when you wake up tomorrow, and I'll have breakfast ready for you," Alice said with a gracious smile. Danny gave her a tired, half hearted smile in reply before throwing himself onto the bed, burying himself deep under waves of cashmere and silk.

---

The next morning, Danny found himself wakened by a beam of sunlight marching in through a crack of the half drawn curtains. With a brief glance at his watch, he determined that he had had a longer sleep than he had had in a very long time. This was the first time in a year that he had wakened of his own accord, no alarm clocks, no stray ghosts, and no sister.

Danny winced at the thought of Jazz, but, as he slid out of bed, he quickly directed his mind elsewhere. He sleepily made his way over to the bathroom and splashed his face with water. Leaning over the counter, he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked…tired, he decided. There were dark bags under his eyes. As he stared at his reflection, his mind began to wander. _Should I leave or should I stay?_

What were the consequences of simply phasing out of the house right now? Of not even notifying the family he was leaving? Though they had been of no help when he asked them about the people who attacked his home, he knew he could not leave without a goodbye; as kind as they had been to him, they deserved at least that. But where would he go? He would not go home—he didn't want himself to feel those memories, to think about his family; he wanted to lock them out of his mind for as long as he could. But where, then? To Vlad's? What could Vlad possibly do for him that he couldn't do for himself? Worse, Danny thought, paling, could he bear it if he went to Vlad for help and the billionaire turned him away? That, he figured, would hurt more than anything.

For now, he was content with living in the moment. He was numb to emotions, and he wanted to stay that way. He would go downstairs, eat, thank the Cullens for their hospitality, leave, and wander by himself to think. As he thought about his host family, the course of his mind shifted. They were certainly a strange family. All of them—every single one—were breathtakingly beautiful. They were like marble statues, all fluidly moving without any hesitations. It almost made him envious. Bella was the only one of them who truly seemed like a normal, if clumsy, human being, though even in her plainness, she, too, was striking. The whole Cullen family gave off waves of cold, making him feel strangely warm in comparison, which was very new feeling, considering he was half ghost. Unlike them, Bella felt like someone he could connect with, someone who was nice enough to share conversation with.

For some strange reason, Danny found his cheeks suddenly grow warm and he turned quickly away from the mirror. He spotted a fresh set of clothes folded perfectly next to the door. Bending down, he picked up a light blue tee shirt that was oddly just his size. The jeans underneath it also fit him perfectly. He glanced at himself once more in the mirror after he had changed clothes. In contrast to what he normally wore, he looked very blue, he decided, but otherwise it looked fine. With that, he left the room and trudged down the stairs, not quite prepared to face the cheerful Alice who was surely waiting for him downstairs.

When he reached the kitchen, he was surprised to find Bella and Edward sitting at the table. Danny took a seat next to Bella before they shared a quick smile.

"Good morning," she said lightly.

"'Morning," Danny slurred tirely back.

"Danny! You came just in time!" Danny cringed at the enthusiasm in Alice's voice. Alice, dressed in a petite brown apron, stepped to the table with two plates filled with breakfast food and set them down in front of Danny and Bella. "I made flapjacks," she said, smiling with all her teeth, clearly proud of her accomplishment. "Oh, Bella, look! Doesn't that shirt bring out the color of his eyes?"

Bella, fork in her mouth, looked between Danny's eyes and the shirt before nodding. Setting the fork down, she said, "You really do know how to pick clothes, don't you?"

Alice's grin doubled just as Danny frowned. "Why aren't you guys eating anything?" he asked Edward and Alice.

Edward shrugged and simply said, "I am not hungry."

Alice did not answer; she instead left the room, claiming to be looking for Jasper.

A short ringing cut through the kitchen and Bella quickly pulled a bulky, silver cell phone from the pocket of her pants. "It's Jacob," she announced, flipping the phone and pressing several buttons and reading the screen. "He says he's coming over."

Edward's brows furrowed. "But why?"

Bella looked discreetly at Danny, who was staring wide eyed at the couple before she passed the phone to her boyfriend and let him read the text. Danny looked away, slightly embarrassed by how blatantly they were excluding him.

"Text him back," Edward told Bella after a slight pause. "Tell him it is not necessary. You are safe with me."

"I know you don't like Jacob, Edward," Bella groaned, "but he needs to know what's going on."

Edward gave her a long look. "He does not need to come," he said, his deep voice ringing with finality.

Bella rolled her eyes, flipped open her phone and began texting a reply. Danny found himself wondering about the animosity between Edward and Jacob. Bella seemed to be the only neutral party.

"Well, if he can't come here," Bella said almost absentmindedly as she texted, "then I'm going to visit him."

"Bella…." Edward gave her a warning glare, which she ignored.

She set down her phone on the counter, but stood up crossing her arms. "I know, Edward," she said. "I know you don't like him, but he's still my friend."

Edward nodded reluctantly, still frowning. "I'm going out, then. Danny." Danny's head snapped up at the sound of his name. "You stay here. Carlisle will be here to keep an eye on you."

Bella looked apologetically at Danny after Edward left the room. "Would you like to come?" she asked, "I'm sure if you were with me, then Edward wouldn't mind you being out. Especially since we're just visiting Jacob."

"Um," Danny began hesitantly.

"It'll only be for a short while," Bella pleaded.

Danny really couldn't argue. "Sure."

"Cool!" Bella grinned as she grabbed her coat. "I'll be outside starting up the car. Come outside after you've cleared your plate."

It was only then that Danny noticed that his half eaten breakfast was still sitting in front of him. "Okay," he said after she left.

He grabbed his plate and threw it in the sink, listening outside as the rumble of a truck reached his ears. He was about to leave the kitchen when he noticed that Bella had left her cell phone. It sat, unguarded on the counter, where she had forgotten it. Looking around for any trace of anyone from the Cullen family, he grabbed it, curiosity burning. His morals made him hesitate, but they ultimately could not stop him from reading Jacob's text.

"'I'm coming over,'" he read quietly to himself, "'I smelled that kid back on the Cullens' land. I don't think he's safe to be around. He doesn't feel normal to me. Tell the bloodsucker.'"

Danny paused to think about the meaning of the last word, but continued on to read Bella's reply. "_Edward_ says I'm safe and I don't see why you don't like Danny. He's a really nice boy. But don't move—I'm coming over to visit you."

Danny flipped the phone shut, his mind racing. What did Jacob mean by 'bloodsucker?' Was it an inside joke? _And Bella thinks I'm nice…._

His mind blanked when Bella honked the horn. Danny yelped and ran to the car.

"What took you so long?" Bella asked, sounding annoyed.

Danny didn't address her question and instead held out her phone. "You left it on the counter."

"Oh," she said, pocketing it, "thanks." She stepped on the gas and they were off. "Jacob's really great when you get to know him," she said conversationally. "He might be a little rough on the outside, but on the inside, he's still a sweet boy, really." She looked away from the road for a moment to give Danny a reassuring smile. "I think you guys will get along really well."

Danny couldn't really add much to that, as he had only once before met Jacob, so he continued looking out of the windshield.

"So," Bella began again more seriously when the silence grew. "It's really sad that we had to meet the way we did—and that you came back because of, well…. Edward told me what happened—I'm really sorry…."

"It's fine," Danny mumbled under his breath, closing his eyes briefly to stop the images of his family from coursing through his brain.

"Well, I was just thinking we could be good friends," she said, focusing on the road, "if the Volturi wasn't involved."

"I don't—" Danny cut himself short, biting his tongue in regret.

"Go on?" Bella goaded.

Danny sighed. "I don't see why we can't be good friends even if those…people are 'after me' or whatever," he said. "You know, I really don't understand why they'd want me, anyway. I never did anything!"

Bella, too, sighed. "I don't really have the answer…. Sorry." She gazed sadly out the window, tightening her grip on the wheel. "But if we're going to be good friends, then we should get to know each other better."

"What do you want to know?" Danny asked, intrigued by the girl's outspokenness. She was being incredibly nice to him, and he couldn't understand why.

"Well, what's your last name?"

"Fenton," Danny said simply. "Yours?"

"I'm Bella Swan," she proclaimed proudly. "Your turn."

"Um," Danny drawled as he thought of a question. "Have you always lived here?"

"No. I actually just moved here last year," Bella said. "What about you? You do live in Forks, right?"

"No…. I live in Amity Park."

"That's far away!" the girl exclaimed. "It's, what, a four hour drive, right?"

Danny nodded, thinking of the flight between Amity Park and Forks. It was a long distance, even for him.

"Wow," Bella said, recapturing his attention. "Hmm, I've got one; how old are you?"

"I'm seventeen," Danny said without hesitation.

"We're the same age, then," Bella said. "And hey, we're here!"

Danny surveyed the surrounding area before he hopped out of the car. It looked like a small ranch just sitting on the edge of a thick forest. Jacob appeared from behind one of the beams supporting the porch overhang.

"Bella!" he called in surprise as he engulfed the girl in a one armed hug. "You brought…him."

"I decided we should all have a fresh start," Bella explained. "This," she said, gesturing towards the shy boy, "is Danny Fenton from Amity Park."

"Amity Park," Jacob echoed. "That's not even in Washington, is it?"

"No," Danny confirmed.

Jacob sighed at Bella's naivety. "Nice to meet you, Danny Fenton" he said, reluctantly extending a sooty hand. "I'm Jacob Black."

Danny gave the wolfish boy's hand a firm shake before dropping it. Jacob couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Danny rubbing his own hand on his pants. "Sorry I'm dirty," he said, "I was working on my bike."

"You have a motorcycle?" Danny asked.

"In the garage," Jacob said, throwing a clean towel over his shoulder. "Just bought it, too. An old Vespa."

Danny could not refrain from taking a peek inside the garage at the shiny white bike.

"A Vespa?" Bella said, laughing. "Isn't that a little…_girly_ for you, Jacob?"

"Actually, now that you mention it," Jacob said, baring his shining, pointed white teeth, "it's meant to be a gift."

"A gift?" she echoed.

"Yes. A gift to a close friend. A very special girl."

His grin grew even wider as Bella's eyes sparkled in realization. "Jacob!" she yelled. "You shouldn't have!"

She ran inside the garage, bypassing Danny, who trudged slowly after her. She traced all the smooth surfaces of the motorcycle.

"The motor doesn't work, yet," Jacob said, "but I figure it'll be better than your truck. And every time you ride it, you can think of me!"

"It's beautiful," Bella breathed.

Jacob, slightly agitated by Danny's presence, fidgeted. "Come on, Bells, let's eat lunch. You can say hi to everyone."

"And they can meet Danny!"

"Yeah…," Jacob said weakly. "And they can meet Danny."

---

All in all, Danny decided, lunch could have always been worse. He had been introduced to the Black family, and, though many of their names escaped him, a lot of their friends. All of them, funnily enough, acted the same as Jacob Black did. They had the same animalistic qualities about their faces and habits. One of the older boys even held an uncanny resemblance to Wolf. They ate large steaks for lunch, which was very uncommon, and they almost whined at each other when something went wrong. At first, the family had been very stand-offish, giving Danny the impression that he was not welcome, but as time wore on, and Bella forced them together, they grew slightly warmer towards him.

"For some reason, I like you, Danny," one of the older men, Jared, said, surprising the boy, who had been silent for most of lunch. "You seem like a fine young man."

This comment earned him strange looks from around the table, but garnered a smile from Danny. "Thank you."

The rest of the time spent at Jacob's house was just as awkward for Danny. Danny followed Bella around as she walked with Jacob, and he became almost sickened by their constant banter. By the time Bella decided it was time to leave, the grey sky had become dark, and it was nearing dusk.

"I should go," she told Jacob, "Edward's expecting us back before dinner."

"Oh, that lee—your boyfriend can lay off," Jacob said with a wave of his hand. "He's too uptight. You've only been here for a little while."

"We've been here for three hours, Jacob," Bella replied. "I really have to get Danny back, anyway."

"Fine," Jacob said, giving up. "Give me a hug, and I'll let you go."

Danny rolled his eyes, but Bella gave Jacob one last smile before falling into his large arms. "See you later, Jacob," she said, backing away.

But Jacob didn't answer. Instead, he grew very still. Danny stared at him oddly, but Jacob took no notice. His eyes grew wide and looked out past Bella's shoulder towards the forest, and his nostrils flared as he breathed in quietly.

"Bella, get in the car," he ordered, his voice no longer joking, but serious and deep. "Danny, too. Get in the car."

"What—?" both Bella and Danny mouthed at the same time, neither making any move to follow Jacob's command.

"Jacob, what is it?" Bella asked anxiously.

"Get in the car!" Jacob's voice was a harsh whisper, now.

Danny spun when he hear a twig snap from behind.

Three eerily beautiful people ambled slowly out of the thick forest. The front door flew open behind them all, signaling the arrival of one of the Black family members.

"Jacob, I hear you; what is it—?" But the voice, which Danny had recognized as Quil's, stopped short when he saw the three figures slowly stalking towards them.

"If it isn't the very two people we were ordered to find," the man in the middle of the newcomers chuckled.

"Jane and Dmitri!" Danny heard Bella's terrified whisper beside him.

As if by instinct, Jacob took a defensive stance in front of them both. "Why are you here?" he growled, hackles standing on end.

"I think you know, dog," the beautiful red haired woman on the left said lightly, throwing her nose into the air.

"I'm giving you the count of three to get off our land," Jacob said in a low, menacing voice. Behind his back, Bella and Danny shared a shocked look.

"Or you'll what?" the woman said with a laugh. "Bark us away?"

Without warning, a huge dog leapt from behind Jacob through the air and caught the slim figure of the woman with a swipe of its large paws. The woman recoiled, but seemed otherwise unfazed. The dog, which was just rolling itself back onto its feet suddenly froze. It fell back down onto its side, whimpering in agony.

"Embry!" Jacob yelled, and before Danny could blink, the unbelievable happened. Jacob's features twisted and elongated; his fingers grew together, thickened and shrunk. Suddenly, there was no longer a boy in front of Danny, but a huge wolf. Danny yelped and jumped back, pulling Bella with him.

"Danny, relax!" Bella whispered loudly. "It's still Jacob!"

Suddenly, five large wolves ran at the three people, but several of them were fended back by some invisible force which made them fall and cry out in pain.

"What's going on?" Danny yelled, but his only answer was a sharp yank on his arm. He felt his shoulder pop out of place and, with a yelp of pain, he spun to face his attacker. It was the woman who hadn't yet spoken; a tall, brunette with an evil, red smile.

As he struggled to pull out of her death grip, he heard Bella cry out. The brunette woman had Bella in her other hand. Danny could not help but wonder how anyone could be so strong. Surely she wasn't a ghost….

"Don't struggle and it'll be a lot easier for us both," the woman soothed, but Bella began to struggle even harder.

Danny was next to himself in despair. Surely he wouldn't call too much attention to himself if he used his ghost powers now….

Without further delay, the boy grabbed onto Bella's free hand. She didn't even have time to protest before Danny yelled at the brunette woman. "Get off of us!"

He felt the familiar tingly of intangibility and pulled them both away from their attacker. The brunette woman screamed when she could no longer see them. "Come back here!"

Danny didn't hesitate; he ran, dragging Bella away from the fight into the forest. They dodged fighting wolves and avoided flying debris. "This way!" Danny whispered to the girl in his grip. When they made it to the forest, he regained both tangibility and visibility and dropped Bella's arm. Both of them were panting heavily, but Danny continued watching the fighting taking place only feet away. Bella, however, was staring at her hands.

"What?" she said, still breathless, catching Danny's attention. "What just happened?"

Danny had hoped against all hope that Bella hadn't noticed anything, but he knew that it would have been too good to be true. He turned from the fight to see the girl still looking at her palms, her eyes wide.

She looked slowly up at him, shaking. "What are you?"

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**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing! I'm sorry if I got some facts wrong.... :) And yes, I know there's a crossover section now. Don't worry--I'll put it there...eventually. I just wanted to post this really fast and leave. I'll have time to fix the details later.


	7. Chapter Six

**Twilight**

Chapter Six

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Danny backed away, stumbling over the brush behind him. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Bella's.

"Uh—"

"You—" Bella started, her voice hoarse. "We passed _through_ her!"

"I—um—"

Danny was saved when a long, drawn out scream ripped through the forest, forcing both them both to wince and cover their ears. Only moments later, a worried Edward was by their side.

"Bella," he said, closing the space between himself and his girlfriend to stroke her hair. "Love, you're safe now."

She allowed herself to be pulled into his cold hug, but her eyes never left Danny. When Edward released her, she seemed to have lost the will to speak.

"We must leave—I don't know how many Volturi are here," Edward said in a harsh whisper.

"Jacob—"

Edward cut her off with a nod. "The remaining Quiluete tribe has been invited to stay at our house."

"The remaining—?" Danny began hesitantly.

Edward couldn't look him in the eye. "I couldn't dismantle either Jane or Demitri before they fled. Embry attacked Jane as she ran—I couldn't stop him—"

He broke off, leaving both Danny and Bella to assume what had happened. Bella couldn't stop a choked sob from rising to her throat.

"How did you get to safety so quickly?" Edward asked, desperate to change the topic.

Bella's brown eyes met Edward's and, not before glancing at Danny, she opened her mouth. Danny couldn't stop the fear from rising from his stomach. In a moment of pure panic, he invisibly duplicated himself and overshadowed his newest friend, desperate for a diversion.

Edward watched with horror as his girlfriend's eyes rolled back into her head. The Danny in Bella's body closed his eyes and fell backwards, hoping that Edward would catch him before he hit the ground. Edward's reflexes were sharp—he caught his girlfriend in his arms before she fell more than a foot.

"Bella!" he cried. Taking her body in his arms, he carried her to the clearing where his coven and the werewolves were recovering from the attack.

"Edward, what happened?" Alice gasped when she saw the body in Edward's arms.

The coven circled Edward and his girlfriend in concern.

"E-Edward?" Bella spoke softly as her eyes fluttered open.

"What happened?" Edward asked her desperately.

Bella's brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't know…," she said, burying her face in Edward's shirt. Glancing up at him, she asked, "What was I talking about?"

Confident in her swift recovery, Edward gently set Bella down on her feet. Keeping a tight hold on her shoulders to steady her, he replied, "It doesn't matter now, darling."

"Where's Danny?" she asked, glancing at the coven.

Edward's eyes widened and he spun, searching the area. "Oh, no."

Alice and Rosalie closed their eyes at the same time.

"What is it?" Bella asked, worried by the lack of response. "Where'd he go?"

"Bella," Edward whispered. Suddenly he was flanked on both sides by Jacob and Quil. The Cullens and the remaining members of the Black family surrounded them, standing together.

"I think," Jacob said for him, "that Danny's the least of our problems, now."

Bella spun when maniacal laughing broke out from the forest. Beautiful vampires lined the forest, appearing behind trees and bushes.

"More Volturi," Alice whispered, tensing.

Bella looked down when Edward's hand snaked around her own. She shuddered when he whispered into her ear, "There are too many."

All of them smiled together, dangerous toothy smiles. Leading them, Bella could see a bruised Jane and a broken Demitri. Her heart sunk to her feet. She knew there was no chance. They were sorely outnumbered.

"Give them up and we won't have to fight," was Jane's only words.

"There's only Bella, now," Edward answered bravely. "And you can't have her."

"I beg to differ," Demitri answered for his partner.

"But where did the little boy go?" Jane asked, suddenly worried.

"What do you want with him, anyway?" Alice growled.

The didn't receive a direct answer. "Where is he?"

"We don't know—he ran away! Just please, leave us alone!" Jasper shouted, his voice cracking with fury. "You've done enough damage!"

Demetri, Jane, and their followers drew nearer. "We have our orders," was the solemn reply.

Jacob growled beside Edward, and Bella drew back behind him, shaking with fear. The growling instigated a final laugh from the Volturi and they crouched, ready to spring an attack. Jane raised her hands, her sharp nails pointed at them. With a giggle, she leapt straight at Edward, her teeth wide and razor-like.

Edward tensed further, ready to defend, but froze in surprise when a blast of green light shot her down. She hit the ground hard and left a trail in the dirt where she rolled to her feet. She panted, grabbing at her burnt arm where she had been hit. At once, all attention was on the source of the blast—a scrawny dark boy hidden by the forest shadows. His eyes glowed fiercely and his hands were clenched so tight that they, too glowed an eerie green.

His voice, familiar and strange at the same time, echoed in everyone's ears. "Nobody move."

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**A/N: **You can thank SpartanCommander for this update. S/he PMed me and was like, "wtfplzupdate" (exaggeration, of course. In reality, they actually gave me really great suggestions for this story.) Really, I don't know what to say to the fact that my least favorite fic I've ever written has the greatest review/chapter ratio. I'm getting really annoyed at this story because the more I think about it, the more I feel like the people from Twilight are no competition at all for Danny--he could kick all of their butts at once from here to the Ghost Zone. Why should I even bother writing about their interaction?

In any case, you guys are really encouraging. Thanks for all the great reviews!


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